Secret Santa
by QuietlyFlailing
Summary: Anna decides to bring a little extra happiness to our favourite heads of staff at Christmas time.
1. Chapter 1

_Okay so this is slightly **AU** as I decided to have Mr. Bates's trial not take place until after Christmas._

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of these characters but I'm going give them a good time before I return them to ITV. _

_Summary: Anna decides to bring a little extra happiness to our favourite heads of staff at Christmas time._

As Anna lay in her bed smiling to herself, she couldn't help but wonder how she had managed to pull it off. It had all started as a simple way of her trying to find a way of thinking about something other than John. Her smile faded and tears threatened to fall once again at the slightest thought of him but she forced herself to focus on the success of the day.

Every year the staff would exchange gifts amongst themselves. Usually they weren't given too much thought and happened to be whatever the staff could make or purchase for the lowest price without too much fuss. Her mind wandered to a handkerchief she had been given by Mrs. Patmore as a Christmas present last year. It had the letters L. M. already embroidered on it and smelt like it had been used many times before it was given to her. She shuddered at the thought and remembered with a sly smile how she had 'accidently' dropped it into the fire. Mrs. Patmore had made a bit of a fuss but she didn't really seem to care that much at the loss of her 'precious' gift. It was this lack of caring that had annoyed Anna. When she was younger, her parents had always put so much thought into the presents they would get or make for other people. They always tried to come up with something special even if it was only a modest handkerchief; they would at least have the courtesy to wash it and sow the correct letters into the fabric. They had always told her that 'it is the thought that counts'. That is why Anna had resolved to change the goings-on in the downstairs section of Downton Abbey. She decided to come up with a big plan to bring everyone together and hopefully bring some cheer to the house before what was sure to be a terrible time in the new year when the trial was due to go ahead.

Secret Santa! It was perfect. She had always loved receiving her gifts from Santa and what could be more fun than playing Santa to the rest of the house. She had thought that if the servants were forced to buy only one present then they would have to put some decent effort into it. It is always better to receive a gift that has had some thought behind it rather than any old tat that they were able to get their hands on at the last minute. At first, she had giggled at the thought of Thomas picking Mrs. Patmore's name or even more silly, the thought of Mrs. O'Brien picking Daisy's. The image of the scowl that would become even more permanently fixed on O'Brien's face was enough to set Anna off into a fit of giggles which she struggled to control. The only thing that kept niggling at the back of Anna's mind was the one pairing that she kept coming back to was that of the two heads of the staff. They had been so good to her since the revelations about John and herself. She remembered that night Mrs. Hughes had spent soothing her as she had cried in her parlour. She had felt such a fool for crying but Mrs. Hughes kept reassuring her that it was perfectly alright and 'better out than in'. Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson seemed to work so well together and always reminded her of her Mom and Dad. Anna knew, that however much they seemed like an old married couple, they would never act on any feelings that anyone could see that they have for another because of the strict rules that they applied to themselves for fear of looking foolish or even worse, less authoritative than usual.

She knew all that they needed was a gentle push in the right direction so that would be able to show what they truly felt for one another. So this was what led to Anna's big scheme to rig the Secret Santa!

It's hardly the easiest of tasks to pull off when you are not used to being so cunning but Anna was up to the challenge. She had forced herself to rise extra early to make sure her task was completed even though she loathes having to be an early riser any morning. She set about writing all the names of the staff on different pieces of paper. She had decided to wait until the staff was having dinner so that she could include Mr. Molesley and Mrs. Bird who were going to be in Downton today to help with a special banquet that was being hosted by Lord Grantham for a large group of his army comrades and who were likely to be here on Christmas day as well. She had spent her whole night thinking about how she was going to pull this off and had finally come up with her plan of action. She placed all the names of the staff (including James who was the new chauffeur) into a small bag she had found but kept the names of Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson in her hand. She knew that everyone would be gathered in the kitchen before them so she would have to get everyone else to take their names first.

Mrs. Patmore was starting to dish up the dinner for the servants when Anna strode in with her little bag.

"I've had a plan!" She announced.

"This should be interesting" Mrs. O'Brien deadpanned.

"Well actually it is. This Christmas, I think it would be fun if we all did Secret Santa. Everyone has to choose a name from this bag and keep it a secret. Then you have to get that person a present. On Christmas day, we will all place them under our little tree in the corner with just the name of who it is for on them. That way we don't have to own up to who we bought for. Here, I'll go first".

With that she picked out a name and stuffed it in her pocket so that it wouldn't get mixed up with the pieces of paper with Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson on them. She then went round to each member of th staff and got them to pick a name. Right on cue, Mr. Carson entered.

"And what, may I ask, is going on here?" He asked raising one eyebrow.

Discreetly throwing Mrs. Hughes name into the bag as she walked over to him Anna explained "Oh we've decided to play Secret Santa this year and everyone is getting involved. We wouldn't you to feel left out Mr. Carson so why don't you choose a name".

He didn't comment and just reached in very quickly and took out the piece of paper. As he looked at the name he smiled and said "Well I suppose it would be nice for all the staff to have something to cheer about this year"

Mrs. O'Brien rolled her eyes. Anna was on cloud nine and couldn't wait for Mrs. Hughes to join them. She slipped the other piece of paper with Mr. Carson's name on it into the bag when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Sorry you all had to wait" Mrs. Hughes said as she came into the kitchen.

"It isn't a problem, Mrs. Hughes. Anna has an idea she wants to share with you" Mr. Carson explained and Anna couldn't help but smile at the eagerness in his voice.

"We're playing Secret Santa and there's one name left for you to choose, Mrs. Hughes" Anna beamed as she watched Mrs. Hughes take out the last piece of paper.

"Well it will be nice to have something to cheer us all up" Mrs. Hughes said as she looked at the name, not realising how similar to Mr. Carson she sounded.

As everyone sat into their meal, Anna couldn't help but feel triumphant. It wasn't until she was getting ready for bed that she remembered that she still hadn't looked at her piece of paper. She took it out with excitement….Thomas.

"Well I suppose that's what I get for rigging the damn thing" She laughed as she lay down onto her bed.

_I love hearing what you guys think about what I've written. _

_I look forward to seeing if you have any suggestions for what presents might be purchased._

_As always, thanks for reading :D I really appreciate it. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay so first of all, a big thanks for your reviews._

_Secondly, this is more of a set up chapter for what is to come in the next chapter but I hope you enjoy it noetheless._

_**Disclaime**r; Still don't own these characters but I get a lot of enjoyment from borrowing them._

Charles was a man on a mission. It had taken him a few days to organise but now he was finally en route to the train station for a trip to Ripon. However, when he had announced it to the servants at dinnertime a few days ago, he found himself to not be the only staff member who wished to have a shopping trip on their day off. Daisy had been the first to pipe up.

'If you're going on a Sunday then I should be able to go, if it's okay with you Mrs. Patmore, that is?'

'You'll be as much use to me in Ripon as here if you know that they have gone without you, I'll be glad to have a few minutes of peace' Mrs. Patmore said whilst rolling her eyes.

'I'll be happy for you to accompany me Daisy, I'm glad that you have gotten into the spirit of the Secret Santa which is more than can be said for all members of staff' He said, glancing briefly at Mrs. O'Brien.

'Well if she is allowed go then I don't see why I can't come along unless you have some task that you'd like to spring on me at the last minute, Mrs. Hughes' O'Brien countered with a big smirk on her face.

'In actual fact, I wouldn't mind coming along myself since I think I have the perfect gift in mind and Ripon would be the best place to get it. Anna perhaps I could trust you to stay behind to ensure everything is in order while we are out of Downton. You can have Saturday to do as you please, when all your duties taken care of, in return for working on Sunday'

Anna had to work had to stop herself from grinning like a Cheshire cat at the evidence that her plan was working out even better than she had planned. She noticed the ghost of a smile on Mrs. Hughes' face as she looked in Mr. Carson's direction when she spoke of her perfect gift idea. It was only slight so the others hadn't taken any notice but Anna was so caught up in the romance of her plan that she was watching the pair of them very carefully since they had picked their names.

'Are you quite alright, Anna?' Anna was awoken from her thoughts with a very concerned Mrs. Hughes and the rest of the staff staring at her.

'Oh yes, yes I'm fine and, uh, that would be more than a fine arrangement' She finally managed to stutter with a blush spread across her faces. _Serves me right for day dreaming_, she thought to herself.

It was due to this conversation that Charles now found himself accompanied by three of his female staff members. Together they made quite a motley crew; Mrs. O'Brien puffing furiously on her cigarette, no doubt getting as much out of it as possible, Daisy jittering from side to side with the same excitement as a little girl getting ready to sit on Santa's knee to ask for the things she wanted for Christmas and then the ever dignified Mrs. Hughes. He could tell that even though she was looking down the track, she was actually deep in her own thoughts because she had that same crease between her eyebrows that she always got when she was thinking about something very important to her. Whoever was going to receive her present was sure to be very lucky since she seemed to be putting so much thought into it. It was probably Anna since she had been through so much and he knew Els-Mrs. Hughes would want her to get a thoughtful present. Charles couldn't help but sigh as he let his eyes wander over her silhouette. He was ashamed that it took a silly game of Secret Santa in order for him to get Mrs. Hughes a Christmas present. It's not that he wouldn't get her something every year but somehow, by having the freedom of her not knowing it was him meant he could get her something very special without him worrying about whether or not it showed the true depth of his feelings for her. He was too afraid of rejection if he handed it to her himself but since she would just pick it up from under the tree without knowing it was from him meant that he knew she would get something she truly deserved without ruining their friendship. His eyes lingered on her shapely figure when Charles was awoken from his day-dreaming when the rain pulled into the station.

After negotiating their way through the hustle and bustle, Charles eventually found an empty carriage for the quartet. After letting the ladies enter before him, he found himself sitting straight across from Mrs. Hughes.

This could make for an interesting ride.

_Thanks for reading and as always, I love hearing what you guys have to say so leave a review if you get the chance._


	3. Chapter 3

_This is a chapter that I had originally planned on including in the previous chapter but decided it might be nice to have their separate points of view side by side._

_**Disclaimer:** Still don't own them just enjoying borrowing them_

She could feel his gaze on her. She was sure he was too busy thinking about what he was getting as his gift for the Secret Santa but she couldn't help but wish he was looking at her for the sake of looking at her. She didn't have the nerve to meet his gaze, however much she wanted to, to see the look he had in his eye. Considering the mood she found herself in today, the chances are she would blush profusely if she did look at him and with Mrs. O'Brien at his side, she knew it would be spotted straight away and it would raise suspicions.

She had tried to tell herself that she wasn't excited about the prospect of getting him the sort of gift that she had wanted to get him for years. It was one of the great ironies of their relationship that as their friendship had started to develop; the more difficult it was for her to show him how she really felt. In reality, she knew he could never reciprocate these feelings and she valued him and their friendship too much to ever fully admit her feelings to him. She was too scared that she would lose him just because she let passion cloud her vision.

When she had picked his name out of the bag, she had one of those eureka moments. It was the perfect veil for her to treat him to something he deserves. The only thing was that he wasn't a man with many obvious hobbies. She knew lots of little details about him. She knew that he would always keep his ink pot on the right hand side of his desk when it was in use and then move it back to the left when he was finished. She knew that even though the proper way to make tea was to pour from the tea pot first and then add milk but when he made it for himself; he would discreetly add the milk first and then add the tea. She felt silly admitting to herself that she noticed these little details but somehow it made her feel good to know that she could notice these things about him. She longed to be able to tell him these little things she knew just so he would know that someone cared enough about him to take heed of the things he likes. It was this that gave her an idea.

She decided that instead of getting him one present that she would getting a variety of little things that reminded her of him and put them together in a nicely wrapped gift. She thought it would be the perfect way to show him about she felt without having to tell him everything although it would give her a good gauge as to how he felt. She thought that if he liked the gift enough it might give her the courage she desperately needs to finally open up to him. She tried to imagine the little trinkets that made her think of him, the fabrics that reminded her of the colour of his eyes…

She was forced out of her pleasant thoughts as the train came to a stop. She decided that if she were to have a quick look at Charles now, it wouldn't be too difficult to pass off as a casual gaze. However, when she turned to him, their eyes locked for a moment. He had a look in his eye that she didn't quite recognise but before she had time to think about it, he had already gotten up to leave the carriage. She followed behind him, trying to hide the blush that had suddenly spread across her face. It embarrassed her that still after all these years of hiding her feelings, he could still make her blush with a single glance and without even knowing the effect he had on her.

Her racing heartbeat made her even more determined than ever that she would get him a gift that showed him a fraction of what he meant to her. She knew that she couldn't pretend any longer, no matter how much it scared her that he might not feel the same way. Today's shopping trip was going to be full and hopefully she would find the right kinds of things that she needed.

_As ever thanks for reading and hopefully you'll let me know what you think by clicking the review button._

_A/N Btw I realise the characters day-dream a lot but I just think that it's just one of the consequences of not saying your feelings out loud. :)_


End file.
